First words decoded from burnt scrolls that haven’t been read in nearly 2,000 years

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The challenge of unearthing lost things and solving inscrutable puzzles is a driving force in the world of science.

Such breakthroughs rarely happen in the derring-do fashion of the “Indiana Jones” films that inspired me to search for lost cities in my childhood backyard.

Rather, some of the groundbreaking discoveries that peel back the layers of history are taking place in labs and on computer screens.

Artificial intelligence is even peering through the most impenetrable of artifacts: ancient, charred scrolls that are too delicate to be unfurled.

Once upon a planet

Scholars have deciphered some of the first words from a Herculaneum scroll burned and buried in AD 79 during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

One of the first words, written in ancient Greek, was translated to “disgust.” It appears twice within a few columns of text.

The artifact is the fifth intact Herculaneum scroll to be virtually unrolled using AI and scans in the Vesuvius Challenge. The competition is spurring researchers to decode the wealth of information about ancient Rome and Greece contained within the papyri.

The as-yet-unknown chemical composition of the ink has made this particular scroll easier to read through X-rays, but scientists believe it may contain one particular ingredient.

Defying gravity

If the asteroid Bennu were to collide with Earth, which it has a 1 in 2,700 chance of doing about 157 years from now, the impact would set off a global winter, according to a new study.

The event, with reduced sunlight, dropping temperatures and less rainfall, could last for years and lead to food insecurity.

And a recently detected asteroid, called 2024 YR4, has a 2.2% chance of hitting our planet in 2032. But astronomers are quick to point out that the chances of either asteroid strike are slim.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s cherry red sports car, launched into space in 2018 on the inaugural flight of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, was recently mistaken for an asteroid — pointing to a larger issue of trying to track near-Earth objects in space.

A long time ago

Archaeologists traced the home of England’s last Anglo-Saxon king that appears in the medieval Bayeux Tapestry.

The find provides a glimpse into a time nearly 1,000 years ago that served as a key turning point in British history.

The enigmatic artwork spans hundreds of feet and depicts William, Duke of Normandy, and his army killing Harold Godwinson, or Harold II, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The team was able to find the “lost” palace of Harold II, shown twice in the intricate embroidery, using ground-penetrating radar to peek beneath another grand residence in Bosham, England.

Lunar update

The far side of the moon, which permanently faces away from Earth, is home to many wonders — including a massive crater near the lunar south pole with deep grooves radiating away from it.

Now, astronomers think they know what happened. A comet or asteroid likely slammed into the moon 3.8 billion years ago, creating a colossal impact basin. Debris from the collision then carved out two scenic Grand Canyon-size valleys within about 10 minutes.

Separately, China plans to send a flying robot to search for water on the moon’s far side next year as part of the Chang’e-7 mission, furthering the country’s plans to land astronauts on the lunar surface within the next five years.

Fantastic creatures

Darwin’s frog is a tiny, endangered species at risk of disappearing from the planet. But 11 male frogs have brought hope to conservationists after “giving birth” altogether to 33 froglets at the London Zoo.

Male Darwin’s frogs actually carry tadpoles inside their vocal sacs as a protective act while the larvae metamorphose into froglets. Then, the frog dads spit out the froglets.

Conservationists transported the male frogs over 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers) from their remote home off the coast of Chile to protect the species from a deadly fungus that’s affecting amphibians across the world.

In other animal news, scientists say they are awestruck over the unexpected arrival of a baby swell shark at Louisiana’s Shreveport Aquarium because no male sharks have visited the tank in years.

Discoveries

Share these new stories with your friends:

— An analysis of a 68 million-year-old fossilized skull in Antarctica revealed the oldest known modern bird, which had a toothless beak and was about the size of a mallard.

— One-third of the world population, including 80% of North Americans, cannot see the Milky Way due to light pollution from cities. But there is a growing movement to bring back dark skies.

— Some great apes are capable of recognizing when a human partner doesn’t know something, and they try to help communicate that information in a very human trait called “theory of mind.”

— Scientists pioneered a new approach to understanding the oldest unsolved problem in physics: the structure of turbulence, a phenomenon seen in moving water and clouds, that could improve the design of airplanes.

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